[Marc]

I’m interviewing for a non traditional accounting/audit role with around 5 years of experience in external and internal audit. Wondering what the in-house interview would be like…
Other than behavioral questions… do they ask technical questions for accountants and auditors? How would u prepare if u were to interview with them again?
Thanks, If no one answers I’ll update with my experience anyways…

Passed And got my license too ..

[M123]

I interviewed with them but not in finance. I know a number of people there and generally, they are top notch people. I think they want top 10 percenters throughout the company. My interview was filled with questions that stroked the interviewer's ego.

I suspect with anything – there will either be a click or not. You might check out glassdoor to see what interview questions you may expect in that department but I would expect that the questions would be designed to prevent rehearsed answers and make show what you can do on your feet. Let us know how it goes.

[Skynet]

Was the interview with “Alexa”?

[Marc]

@Skynet, I'm not sure if this is a joke or not… but if it is, it's pretty funny! But If your question is about the team and was not a joke, then my answer is no, the interview won't be with the Alexa team.
Thanks M123, That's one of the reasons why applied there. you get to learn a lot from top-notch professionals, and their culture seems interesting.
I'll certainly let you guys know how it goes!

Passed And got my license too ..

[Anonymous]

I had 3 interviews with Nike's in-house manufacturing team for a management position. The last interview (3 people hammering me for 2 hours in a tiny conference room) they asked a ton of behavioral questions, but in ways that made you actually talk about real world finance and accounting concepts and how you applied and handled them in your previous positions. Do be prepared to stroke the ego's of the interviewers. Some are top notch, but practically everyone thinks they are top notch and act like they are doing the will of God, and you should be blessed to be in their presence. Lots of KOOL-AID to drink at Fortune 100 company's so you better be thirsty.

If I now know what I know, I probably wouldn't have even bothered with the interview. Love the company's products, but the Finance people were not my style. As far as interview success goes, it was a tough interview. Just be ready with a lot of work related examples that show you knew your stuff and you can apply the same skill at Amazon.

[VanDammage]

I interviewed with Amazon for a managerial position in their accounting group recently. I didn't want to leave my current job, so it didn't progress further than 2 phone interviews and a writing assessment, but I'll share my experience with you.

Their phone interviews alone were intense. Each one was about an hour long with director level people in different areas of their accounting group. They asked a large number of technical questions. For example, they wanted me to discuss the difference in accounting treatment (including walking through journal entries) for the products that they own and sell on their site vs products that they sell for 3rd parties. They also ask a large number of behavioral questions that they want you to tie back to their leadership principles. I would suggest googling their leadership principals and knowing them, as well as reading their most recent SEC filings. Make sure you know their products and accounting principles. They also had me do a “writing assessment” following the phone screens in which I had to draft a technical accounting memo on revenue recognition treatment of a complicated multiple-element arrangement. Their in-person interviews are typically 5 people loops in which they are each responsible for questioning you on different leadership principles. Good luck.

[Ivy]

@isauditforme: Would you mind sharing your experience?

[Marc]

Of course I will, I’m just holding on to see if I’ll get an offer or not, it is highly unlikely that I will though considering my performance in the interviews…
if you are preparing… make sure you read their leadership principles and prepare examples about your experience that demonstrates them… I can’t stress that enough… more to follow soon!

Passed And got my license too ..

[Ivy]

I think I know enough of their leadership principles. Bought some Amazon stock a few years ago, have been follow their story since.

My experience is a mess, plus some other factors, there is not much of chance get to the interview stage by my resume.

[Karessa]

I currently work for Amazon (in the accounting organization), and I can only echo what's already been said here.

Know the leadership principles and have examples of how you perform within those principles! It's not just an interview thing; every day of our working culture fits into those principles. I even refer to them in my personal conversations. Haha 🙂

[Ivy]

…Wondering how many CPAs in a Big Business besides big 4 or accounting firms in general.
From your number, looks like the bar is very high.

Thanks for sharing!

[Marc]

Excuse my delayed response. Here's the post I promised sharing my interview experience at Amazon with everyone. I hope that this helps someone ace their next Amazon Interview.

I'd like to start with the outcome! I got a call from the recruiter a couple of business days after the interview. She said that they decided not to proceed with an offer, but that I was a good fit for Amazon and that I should apply to another position. (I honestly think that they just wanted to say No in a very nice way).

My experience:

Applied online without a referral. I got an email the next day from a recruiter. She scheduled a call with the hiring Manager in a week's time.

The hiring manager spent a while talking about the role, then asked me to introduce myself, and some behavioral questions. and gave me some time to ask some questions.
I certainly Aced the first phone screen. I was really prepared for this one.

I got an email the next day, they wanted to schedule another phone interview.

I honestly didn't understand why they needed another phone interview, but I had no choice. the second interview wasn't great. “I think the guy was trying to put his phone on mute and kept on hanging up on me by mistake”. Anyways, a week after that, I was invited for an in-house interview. and I got a call from my recruiter to prep me for the interview!

There were Five Interviews + Meeting with HR to go over Amazon's compensation model + lunch with a peer.
I was told by many that each interviewer is assigned a couple of leadership principles, and asks you to describe a project or experience where you had to demonstrate one of the leadership principles. (go to Glassdoor, you will find tons of these questions). each question is usually followed up with many other questions to dig deeper into the project or situation you are talking about.

I met with 3 people from the team I would be working with, one person from a totally different business unit (they call that outsider a Bar-raiser – Since Amazon hires can transfer anywhere theoretically, the bar raiser makes sure the quality of new hires is suitable for Amazon as a company and not only for that team), and the last person was from Internal Audit – I guess since I came from an internal audit background).

The crazy part about all of the interviews is that I only got two accounting questions – mainly about my understanding of the business. (I read the 10k and read the notes relevant to the business unit that I was interviewing for, so I got these questions). All of the other questions are simply situational questions.

You have to be a good storyteller, and you have to make sure you are able to communicate your thoughts clearly to someone who is not familiar with your business – it takes some practice. I thought that I could get by without spending enough time to prepare. I was wrong.

While I know I did really well with some interviewers, I know I had at least one terrible interview with the bar raiser.

Lessons learned, Prepare, Prepare, Prepare for your interviews.

Okay, I'll tell you a bonus story that happened while I was there.
The day before the interview, I read on Glassdoor that if you do really bad in the first couple of interviews, they ask you to leave. (so that they don't waste more interviewers time). After lunch, I was scheduled to have a break. My lunch buddy sent me back to the conference room I was in, but 10 minutes later, he came back and said: I'm sorry, I have to take you to the front desk! It was like a slap on the face for me, I didn't think that I did bad at all in the first Three interviews. and I didn't, that guy simply took me upstairs by mistake when he should have kept me downstairs to wait for my next interview!

Did I freak out! yes, I did! I also met my next interviewer soon after, but did really bad in the last two interviews.

Moral of the story, Be confident, yet prepare very well. Make sure your stories tell your accomplishments since they may not ask you too many technical questions, this is your chance to talk about your experience. make sure you guve relevant examples. Be nice, and confident.

Finally, good luck!

Hey @Karessa! I only see amazon software engineers in Seattle, where do you accounting and finance people hide! 🙂 been trying to get in touch with a finance professional for a while, most of the roles that open up are Financial Analysis roles … I'd love to chat about career progression for these roles etc over coffee with an Amazonian sometime. Let me know if you know someone who may be interested in a conversation over a cup of coffee or lunch sometime.

Passed And got my license too ..

[Author]

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